Burundi became on December 16, 2013 the 19th GAVI eligible country to introduce in its routine immunisation programme antirotavirus vaccine. Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe and often fatal diarrhoea among under five children. In Burundi, diarrhoea causes approximately 15 percent of deaths in children less than five years of age. By 2015, GAVI with the support of its donors and partners plan to support the introduction of this vaccine in more than 30 countries.

Partners Forum 2012 - Session summary. Delegations from over 20 countries participated in this session which provided the opportunity for Ministers of Health and their delegations to engage in open dialogue with the GAVI Secretariat on all aspects of the Alliance’s engagement with countries.

Sudan's introduction of rotavirus vaccine earlier this year signalled the start of a wave of African countries ready to counter the world's leading cause of diarrhoeal deaths with GAVI support. In September, the Alliance approved funding for 12 more African countries to introduce the rotavirus vaccine.

Listen to GAVI CEO, Seth Berkley, comment on the roll out of this week's pneumococcal vaccine in Burundi, and an article in the New York Times (19 September 2011) commenting on WHO's cost effective recommendations on combating NCDs.

The Republic of Burundi will next week accelerate its fight against pneumonia, the world's biggest killer of children under five, when it becomes the tenth African country to introduce new pneumococcal vaccines.

Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world. But, in spite of years of civil unrest and poor infrastructure, its commitment to immunisation has been consistently high. Burundi’s DTP3 immunisation coverage increased from 54 per cent in 2001 to 93 per cent in 2006, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures.

The GAVI Alliance is announcing today that the European Commission is committing €10 million in new financing to accelerate access to new and underused vaccines in three low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.